Side Effects [Open]

"What does all this mean...what's the purpose..." An unfamiliar voice carried itself out of the nearby ally and straight into the ears of a passerby. Most of these sheeple wandered by without a care or even capable of noticing the faint echo, but Kaen did. He could hear, he cared, the Anbu cared... Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper, branch out a bit more, be more open minded about picking and choosing. Turning towards the alleyway the sound emanated from Kaen would begin to walk towards it, almost phasing through the bustling crowd that rushed by in each direction.

Having made it to the beginning of the alley he would reach into his pocket and pull out a small, plastic wrapped container. Pulling out a thin ciggerette he would place it in his mouth and breath in. His innate fiery abilities allowed him to light it before it even reached his mouth, a bit showy, but there was nobody else but him and this boy. There was the crowd, sure, but they didn't even notice the boy, why would they notice him? And the boy seemed far to engrossed in the work of art below his own feet. ".....It makes no sense" Kaen would draw nearer towards the boy, slowly and methodically. He seemed so focused on what he was doing he didn't want to startle him when he finally spoke up. With a long inhale he would exhale a large plume of smoke after removing the cigarette from his mouth. "I'm no art scholar, but that kinda looks like an Anbu mask. You know any?" An odd question to be randomly asked, more so by a random stranger you didn't know. But just as the boy wore his kunai holster and belt pouch, Kean too sported a symbol of status. The slight glint of a Sunagakure emblem reflected off the light, it was a headband loosely around his waste like a belt. It was barely visible under the white t-shirt he wore under his black, fur coat.

The boy looked up in response to Kaen's intrusion, a faint hue of blue seemed to glow from his eyes. A unique trait that seemed to manifest itself in the most particular way. He had seen this before, on occasion, such as with Lord Sousuke. Kaen possessed this same trait, but his was more red than blue. A simple trick that usually just consisted of manipulating his aura to appear only in the ocular chakra points. Or something like that. He honestly couldn't explain how he did it if anyone asked, he gathered it would be the same with the kid in front of him. A sudden feeling washed over him, it was cold and dark. Was somebody else here with them? No, he would have sensed them, surely. He would glance over his shoulder thinking he might have seen something but saw nothing. "Did you..." Kaen would start, but the sensation was gone almost as quickly as it manifested itself. Eyes narrowing with suspicion focused themselves back to the young boy before him.

"Who are the Anbu? They haven't taught you about them at the academy yet?" It was a shame that he was unaware of the exact condition the boy found himself in, surely it was a hindrance towards his academics. But again, he knew not of the plight that haunted the boy. Placing the cigarette back into his mouth he would puff out another cloud while also crossing his arms. One arm was raised to rest his hand under his chin as he contemplated how best to answer. "Well, kid," Sucking the last bit out of his smoke he would incinerate the butt between his fingers and blew out the rest of the grey cloud of smoke. "I guess you can call them the best there is. They're shinobi that have been hand selected and specially trained. The go on all sorts of secret missions, sometimes even protecting the Kazekage himself. But what's even cooler," Now he was trying to get on his level. Having Hato around gave him some small insight into what kids his age liked, or at least he thought they liked. "They get to wear masks and have secret identities... Sounds pretty cool, right?" Hell yeah the Anbu were cool. But perhaps he was laying it on a bit too thick.

Some subtle indication of piqued interest was picked up on, at the very least the kid hadn't told him to kick rocks yet so that was a good sign. There was most definitely something amiss with this individual but he just couldn't place his finger on it. Was this kid an escapee from the mental asylum perhaps? His inability to keep eye contact led Kaen to believe the kid may have been hiding something, but at the same time here Kaen was talking to a kid he had never seen before. For all he knew Kaen was the odd one out and the kid was merely making sure he didn't get kidnapped or something worse.

"What were they doing during the swarm?"

A most interesting question, one that Kaen wasn't to sure how best to respond. But he couldn't just stand there like an awkward idiot, he needed to give the boy an answer. "That's a fair question. But the ways of the Anbu are often cloaked in mystery. I imagine they were following whatever orders they were given prior to the official start of that long night." And this was true for nearly any day. Everyone answered to someone, save perhaps the Kazekage or the Daimyo, and so it would only make sense that each member of the illustrious black ops had been given a task by someone higher up and performed it to the best of their ability. The next question was even more of a head scratcher.

"Were they heroes who don't want the credit for saving people....or is the mask to hide the fact that they failed to save a lot of people?"

Kaen's facial demeanor went sour for a moment, but quickly changed to a confused and perplexed look as the boy continued to bewilder him by his actions. Drawing over the crude picture of the mask over and over sent more red flags off inside his mind. Was this kid in danger, even perhaps to himself, where did he even belong? Multiple questions in his mind mulled over, but for now the kid needed another answer. "Ya know, kid. That's a hard question to answer, more so I'm sure for someone of your age to fully understand and grasp. But," Kaen would pause a moment and reach inside his coat pocket and pull out another cigarette. Hard times, and harder questions, often resulted in another smoke. He feared he would need to run to the store after this brief interaction with this kid. Lighting it with just his fingertips he would breath in and slowly breath out a fresh cloud of smoke. "I don't believe anyone joins the Anbu to be a "Hero". When you put on the mask you essentially stop being whoever you were before and simply become a part of the village. A faceless entity meant to serve the village in whatever way they can, or are ordered to do. They aren't the 'saviors' of this village anyway. You want to be saved, go to the hospital or your church." It may not have been the answer he was looking for, but it was the best he had to offer right now.

Seeking a change in pace and topic of conversation Kaen would steer this in a new direction. "My name is Kaen, by the way. Shinku Kaen. I don't believe I've seen you around much, maybe I know your parents? Or maybe you know my son, assuming you two share an y classes together. His name is Hato." Where was he even going with this? I think he had forgotten the original reason he chose to talk to this back alley kid, aside from his constant search for potential recruits. But this boy had yet to reveal anything promising about himself that may dictate the need for kaen to continue his investment of time in this boy.


[OOC MFT]

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